A WREXHAM man has slammed a car park for giving his partner fines for not noticing what they thought was a printed ticket was in fact void.

David Clarke, from Chirk, has spoken of his shock to find his partner had been fined twice having used St Mark's Car Park in Wrexham town centre.

This is because she was guilty of missing four words at the bottom of notices saying 'This is not a parking ticket'.

Mr Clarke explained: "My partner is a regular user of the car park with our two children visited the site as usual paying by debit card and everything was as per usual, or so she thought.

"A week later I received two PCNs(parking charge notice) through the post from ParkingEye and when she claimed she had paid and went to get the tickets discovered they were 'void transaction receipts'.

"They appeared exactly the same as a ticket receipt but with 'void transaction' and 'this is not a ticket' printed on them.

"I asked her what happened on the days in question and she said the machine acted exactly the same as usual, as though she had paid, and as usual asked if she would like a receipt.

"She grabbed the receipt/ticket like usual and preoccupied with our two toddlers stuck it in her purse and thought no more."

A week later the pair were shocked to find they had been fined.

Mr Clarke said: "A search online found lots of people in the same situation (many stating St Mark's car park) as us on Facebook groups - set up to try and fight these.

"We feel aggrieved that my partner had tried to pay, kept to the times she had tried to pay for and was not made aware by the machine that payment had not been taken and in the fact that there was no reason payment shouldn't have been taken.

"In fact on contacting our bank we were informed that on both days no request for payment from parking eye was made, suggesting a fault at their end.

"Sadly all appeals to both ParkingEye and POPLA (independent appeals service for PCNs) have been rejected.

"Me, my pregnant partner and our two children are now facing what we believe will a £200 charge when it arrives or go to court, right before Christmas for an honest attempt to pay a ticket and without knowing it wasn't paid; many in the area are in the same boat."

A ParkingEye spokesman said: “It is vitally important that all motorists understand the terms and conditions of the car park, and ensure that they pay the correct amount for their stay.

"The details of this are displayed on signage across the site. We urge anyone unfamiliar with the car park to read the terms and conditions.

"In relation to the case cited, on both occasions [October 1 and 11], the payment kiosks were working and all other motorists visiting the car park were able to pay, via card, without any issues.”